1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to systems for the protective covering of objects that are transported or stored in the open and subject to exposure.
2. Description of Prior Art
Existing protective covers employ simple means for securing the cover to the object. First, the most common means for securing protective covers involves using rope, twine, elastic cords, straps, etc. The securing means must then be passed beneath the object being covered in order to secure the cover to the object. Another means for securing the protective cover requires that some type of hook or eyelet be attached to the object to be covered. The cover can then be secured to the object by using rope, twine, elastic cords, straps, etc. The existing means for securing covers require extensive manipulation in order to secure the cover over the object which is to be covered and protected. These methods are time consuming, inconvenient, and ineffective.
The prior art means for securing the cover can be easily lost or misplaced. They often become tangled and unusable.
An example of the problems associated with the prior art can be demonstrated by using the example of a personal watercraft. The watercraft must first be attached to a trailer before the cover can be placed over the watercraft. This is because personal watercraft are secured to a trailer using a nose pin. This creates difficulty since the existing covers do not provide a means whereby the cover can be placed over or removed from the watercraft while the watercraft is not secured to the trailer. The primary difficulty created by the existing covers is that their securing means must be passed under the watercraft or under the trailer. This requires either lifting the watercraft or climbing under a trailer on which the watercraft is stored. But one of these two options is a necessity since the existing covers secure beneath the object rather than over it. An additional problem with existing covers occurs during transport. When transporting the covered object, air is forced under the cover and the cover "chatters" back and forth across the object. Chattering is the rapid movement of the cover due to the instability of the securing means.
Using the example of a watercraft, this movement of the cover across the watercraft damages the finish and other parts of the watercraft. Over a short period of time, substantial damage may occur to any object that is covered using existing means. In addition, the existing covers wear and age rapidly, diminishing their functionality and usefulness.
Finally, at highway traveling speeds, the force of wind under and around the present covers often results in the cover being blown off or flapping in the air, no longer covering the object to which it is attached.
The disadvantages identified above are not isolated to this example, but extend to protective covering systems for other objects as well.
What is needed is a protective covering system that 1) is easily placed on and removed from an object to be covered and 2) secures snugly to the object being covered, eliminating damage to that object and reducing wear of and loss of the protective cover, while reducing the time and effort used in covering the object.